In My Veins, In My Blood
by LunarRose0614
Summary: What do you do when the one that got away comes back? Brynjolf/OC, sort of au.
1. I

Had it been any other night he wouldn't have been there. Normally he spends his nights in the Flagon with Thatcher playing cards and drinking the night away. Tonight however, tonight he decided he needed a break from the pungent smell of the Ratway and get some fresh air. He picked up some mead from the inn and walked along the lake admiring the crisp fall air and moonlit lake before him. He plopped himself down not too far from the docks and began to drink and scribble away in his journal like he normally did in his downtime. He heard the distinctive sound of twigs crunching between the light foot of an expert thief who stepped on the wrong spot. It cracked ever so lightly, and then dead silence. He turned his head to the direction he heard it coming from and had his hand on the hilt of one of his daggers. He watched an almost familiar mass of red hair scurry past him and onto the trail to the city. _It couldn't be..._ he had to be sure though. He jumped up and stayed behind, watching carefully. He stepped on a twig and quickly scurried behind a nearby tree, the figure turned into his direction, and the moon hit their face just right that he could make out it was exactly who he thought it was. He quickly ducked behind the tree again and he felt his heart pounding a little harder. He waited until they had vanished into the city gates to retrieve his things and head back to the Flagon.  
When he arrived he saw Delvin and Thatcher playing cards laughing like the drunken idiots that they were about something Gallus had said to Karliah earlier that was just so corny. Thatcher noticed his arrival first, "Bryn! Whatsa matter you look like you've seen a ghost!"  
"I think I might have" he confessed as he pulled up a chair to their table.  
"What are you talking about?" Thatcher asked as he leaned his seat back.  
Brynjolf sighed and asked the bartender, Cypress for a mead. To which Cypress asking if Brynjolf has a pair of working legs. Brynjolf reluctantly walked and grabbed his booze before sitting back down "I...I mean I'm pretty sure I saw... _her"_  
Delvin furrowed his brow in confusion "What're you on about?"  
Thatcher slammed back down in his chair with his jaw ajar. "You don't mean..."  
Brynjolf nodded.  
Thatcher slouched back in his chair "I don't believe it, after all this time..."  
"Oh c'mon don't leave me outta this!" Delvin whined  
Thatcher knew Brynjolf didn't have the guts to say it, if he even realized it himself, so he filled Delvin in "The only girl Brynjolf will ever love"  
Brynjolf shot Thatcher a nasty look, Delvin looked at Brynjolf "You? In love? I'll believe that when pig's fly" the Breton laughed.  
"I don't love her she's...she's my best friend"  
Thatcher gave him a look of offense "What am I? Chopped skeever?"  
"Oh give me a break, you're his damn wife" Delvin scoffed, Thatcher smacked his head into the table, to which Delvin pushed him out of his chair.  
"Will you cut it out you two? She's in this damn city, I don't think I could face her again..."  
"Oh please she's your best friend what are you fussin' about?" Delvin said once he finally got back into his seat.  
"He fucked up with her big time" Thatcher remarked, once again knowing Brynjolf wouldn't admit to that.  
"What'd you do?" Delvin asked.  
"I don't want to talk about it" Brynjolf shot at him "And don't you tell him" he directed at Thatcher.  
"Bryn that was 5 years ago at least, you gotta learn to let it go"  
"5 years exactly" Brynjolf said as he buried his head in his hands.

"I'm telling him"  
"Whatever" Brynjolf mumbled. He thought about it all the time, it was a constant reminder of how big of a screw up he is, and always will be. He didn't want to hear it again. "Just don't go telling people"  
"On my honor" Delvin said crossing his heart with his finger, before turning to Thatcher like he was getting gossip from the barkeeper.  
Thatcher sighed "Well I'll tell you the whole thing so you understand. And because if Brynjolf tells it he'll muck it all up."  
Brynjolf kicked his shin from under the table, "Don't be such a baby, Bryn. Go back to repressing this." Brynjolf shook his head before resuming his head in hands position.  
"Okay so this is from first person experience, Brynjolf, myself and this birdie, Malora were friends since we were still whelps living in Honorhall together. We escaped after a few years and started thieving to get by, eventually trying to pickpocket Gallus and failing" Thatcher laughed and shook his head "Well we were lucky Gallus is so nice because instead of getting mad at us rascals he takes us under his wing. He hones our skills to a point for years before we hit 18 and we're in the Guild. This is where it gets tricky." Delvin was watching intently with his head cocked to the side and resting on his hands, completely dazzled by this story. Thatcher had to laugh "Anyway so Brynjolf goes and kisses her one night when he thinks I'm not watching and she ended up letting him bed her. But we all know how Brynjolf is, as soon as he noticed her start to be more affectionate towards him he pushed her away until she ended up in my arms one faithful night. I didn't bed her or nothin' but she kept going on and on about how she loved him and how she thinks he hates her now and whatnot. Brynjolf hears all this and starts bugging out telling her that she's crazy for loving him and that he would never love her back because like I said, we all know how Brynjolf is..." Brynjolf hated this part. "So shes still around after this, she's still drifting further away from him and closer to me since I was Brynjolf 2.0 for her." Thatcher laughed at that part "Well one day me and Malora are getting all cozy and he comes up and starts getting in my face, eventually starts beating on me, probably one of the worst of my life, actually it gave me this scar" he paused and pulled his messy brown hair out of his face, revealing the long scar that went straight down his face from his forehead to his chin tucked away almost by his ear. "Remember that Bryn?"  
Brynjolf lifted his head up and shot him a dirty look "Anyway he's wailing on me and she of course tries to interfere, now seeing she grew up around the 2 of us she would get into fights with us too but we'd go easy on her of course cos she's a girl, so she thought she could step in and as soon as she did POW!" Thatcher smacked his fist into his palm "Right in the kisser! She goes flying back and four of her front teeth don't come with her. So of course Brynjolf doesn't realize what he did and keeps wailing on me until she starts beating the PISS outta him givin' him that" Thatcher reached across the table trying to lift Brynjolf's head up so he could show Delvin "Bryn c'mon this is vital to the story"  
Brynjolf shook his head and lifted his head to show Delvin the small, but deep scar that ran from his chin almost half way up his jaw bone. Thatcher thinks it's such a cool scar "That scar! Ahh isn't that cool? I ain't never seen no lady, hell no one ever clock someone that hard across the face That damn ring of hers really did ya dirty, Bryn!" Thatcher chuckled a bit before continuing "After that she vanished from Riften promising to never come back" Thatcher looked at Brynjolf with a devious smirk "Until now I guess"  
Delvin looked confused "Thatcher it kinda seems like you're to blame here" he remarked.  
"No, Delvin it is my fault. I've never forgiven myself for that night. The way she looked at me afterwards...she was so hurt. And I did it to her." Brynjolf said solemnly. "I was so fuckin' stupid!"  
"Easy Bryn, you can't keep beating yourself up over this"  
"I'm going to bed" Brynjolf stated flatly, disappearing quickly into the cistern.  
He fell onto his bed, most of the guild was passed out already or still in the Flagon, he stared up at the ceiling with a million thoughts running through his mind, all containing the same thing; her. He tossed and turned all night trying to calm his anxious nerves. Why was she back in Riften? She swore she wouldn't step foot in this city again as long as he was still here. He was completely disgusted with himself as usual. trying and failing to fall asleep.

When he did finally manage to fall asleep it was only for a few hours, he woke up groggy and miserable. His head was pounding from his drinking last night and probably from not being able to sleep it off.  
He splashed his face with some water, tied his messy bed head into a ponytail and changed into actual clothes instead of the armor he never took off yesterday. He decided to pay his respects to his parents who were buried along side each other in the cemetery right above where he laid his head every night for sleep. He was never able to console himself, he was so young when they died. But he remembered so much about them, he remembered hearing his mother died in a bandit raid, and his dad drank himself to death. He remembered going to both of their funerals, somber and alone. He remembered crying every night in that cursed orphanage until one day a young girl crawled into his bed with him and told him stories to get him through the night. He can't think about her right now. Not while she's somewhere nearby, lest he lose him composure.  
He always talked to his parents, always told them what was going on in his life, in the world. But now all he could do was cry. He missed them more than anything, and needed their guidance so much throughout life and it was stolen from him. He wasn't a religious man, because how could the gods let so many children become orphans in this unforgiving land?  
The sun started to peak over the horizon, so Brynjolf wrapped up his sob session and dragged himself to his market stall. He sat there for a while by himself scribbling away in his journal until the people finally started to populate the streets. He kept peering over at the inn to see if he would see her leave. But he wasn't too sure what he would do if he did see her. He was scared out of his wits and almost closed up shop until she finally did walk out, donning a loose fitting tunic that looked very familiar to him and leather trousers and her trusty boots. Her flowing red hair tied into a loose ponytail that fell to the side. Brynjolf swore he fell in love with her all over again right there. He shook himself out of it and watched her looking at different things in the market, and snagging some things from the distracted shopkeepers. He had to laugh to himself, she hasn't changed a bit.  
She made it all the way to the stall next to his when she noticed him. He stared at her staring back at him, both of them completely frozen in...fear? He finally decided to get up and approach her, to which she backed away from him. "Lass, please..." he started  
She flashed him smile, showing him the four fake teeth she had in that were so obviously fake. He winced a bit seeing them, knowing he was the reason she needed them in the first place.  
"Lass I'll reimburse you...whatever it takes"  
"I don't want your money Brynjolf" She spat at him, her words dripping with venom. "I've spent so fucking long being angry with you and the first thing you do is try to offer me money! Some things never change..." she went to walk off and he grabbed her by the shoulder "Give me a chance to apologize, please"  
She pulled away from him violently "You lost that chance" and with that she disappeared outside city gates, leaving Brynjolf standing there with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He closed up the shop, he never made any money anyway, and followed her out of the city. When he finally caught up with her she shot around, tears streaming down her flushed face. "Get away from me!" She begged.  
He fell back, taking in her expression. He will never forgive himself for hurting her back then, now, and all the years in between.  
"Malora..." She sniffled a bit and looked at him, he only used her real name instead of the pet name 'lass', when he was being 100% serious. "Malora I haven't forgiven myself for what I did to you, and I don't think I ever will...I don't expect you to forgive me either but I want you to at least hear me out"  
"What could you possibly have to explain to me?" She asked through her sobs.  
He fumbled for the right words, he wasn't sure what he wanted to explain either. He just wanted her time, he wanted to try and redeem himself in her eyes. He couldn't bare her lack of presence in his life anymore.  
"Malora...Malora I love you. I've always loved you, even when I said I didn't. I just didn't fucking know it until you wised up and left this rat hole of a city" he paused and looked for her reaction, and he got none. She stared at him blank faced, tears still streaming down her face.  
"Then why did you tell me you didn't? Did you want to hurt me, to scare me away?"  
He stared at her for a moment. "I was scared. I didn't know what I was feeling and it fucking terrified me! I realize now how stupid I was and I have never forgiven myself for it. I hated seeing you with my best friend, I hated that the only reason you did it was because I was too stupid to realize what my feelings were!" He nearly shouted that last part, she continued to stare at him with a blank face. "Can you please say something?" he shouted at her out of frustration.  
She stared at him with those deep green eyes that always reminded him of the lushy grass meadows he used to play in as a child, only the warm feeling he normally got when he looked at them was replaced with hurt. Her eyes were pained; glossed over and puffy from her crying. He almost couldn't bare to look into those eyes that used to provide him such comfort.  
She was whimpering a bit still, but had stopped and collected herself to utter the last thing she said to him before she disappeared into the Riften wilderness.  
"You're a fuckin' liar."


	2. II

(A/N: sorry for the short chapter I deleted basically the whole ending because i hated it so hope you enjoy what's still left of this chapter!)

He sat and stared at the empty space she was just occupying in utter disbelief. What in oblivion just happened?  
He stood slowly and headed back to the city. The 5 minute walk felt like hours as he put himself back together after that blow. He opens himself up to someone he's known his whole life, the one person who knows everything about him. And she walked off on him, and told him he was lying about it.  
Was he lying? Did he really actually love her? Was it just hearing the few who knew about her always poking fun about the one girl he ever loved?  
Did he love her?  
He of course felt horrible for what he did and what he said, and she hasn't left his mind since. Maybe it was just guilt, he assured himself. He just felt guilty for hurting her and that's all it was.  
When he got back to the Flagon Thatcher was waiting with a mead ready for Brynjolf across from him. "I saw her" he said when Brynjolf sat down, causing Brynjolf to feel even worse than he did before.  
"Then you know I chased after her?"  
"You're acting like I didn't follow the two of you and listen to everything you said"  
Brynjolf glared at him "Why did you follow us?"  
"Because I love a good drama" A cheeky grin flickered on his lips "And in case she beat the piss out of you again I wanted to be there to make sure you didn't bleed out on the side of the road"  
Brynjolf punched his arm and popped open his mead, nearly downing the whole thing in one gulp.  
Thatcher watched with a mix of shock, amusement and amazement on his face watching the spectacle in front of him. "I never seen you this worked up before. She was pretty harsh though"  
"I deserved it"  
"You can't keep letting her dictate your life, Brynny. You're thieving skills are slacking because of your drinking which is because you can't get her out of your head and the drinking helps."  
Brynjolf sighed, Thatcher was right. "Do you really think I love her? Not in the needing a reason to tease me way but in the actual you can tell I love her way?"  
Thatchers face grew stern, it was the most serious Brynjolf had seen him in a long time. "You're not letting her get to you with this now too are you?" He shook his head, disappointed "I can't tell you if you love her, from what I can see you're completely mad about her but I don't know what goes inside that air filled head of yours"  
"I don't know if I do...I missed her...and I feel bad about everything that's happened but I said I didn't love her back then, maybe I wasn't just being an arse?"  
"Of course you were just being an arse! You're always an arse! But I see the way you talk about her, even before she left, the way she made your eyes light up when she walked in the room. She could've been covered in warts and who knows what else and you still would've looked at her like she was the damn sun in your sky"  
"You're just being corny now"  
"I'm being serious"  
Brynjolf shook his head "Whatever" He got up and grabbed another mead from under the counter as Cypress was too busy chasing the guilds resident stray dog out of the storage room.

As he was popping the cork out the door to the Flagon opened, of course drawing everyone's attention to it.  
There stood the last person he wanted to see right now, he ducked his head down hoping she didn't see him.  
Even if she didn't see him, she saw Thatcher, who she went running up to and embraced him in a long hug. "It is so goddamn good to see you birdie!" He said spinning her a bit, Brynjolf hated that he was reliving the worst part of his life all over again.  
"I've missed you, Thatch, so much"  
Brynjolf grimaced, he didnt miss this at all.

Thatcher finally set her down and the rest of the occupants of the Flagon stared at the strange girl that had just waltzed in here like she owned the place. Everyone except Brynjolf.  
She noticed him sitting there failing miserably at trying to hide and didn't even acknowledge him. "Where's Gallus?" She asked in her usual peppy voice.  
"Out on a job with Mercer, why?"  
"I want back in"  
Brynjolf's head shot up "No way"  
"What? Can't look past things and work with me again?" She asked with a coy smirk.

"No, I don't think I can. Especially not with you two reunited lovebirds rubbing this in my face yet again like it wasn't fuckin' bad enough last time" He said as he stood up, taking his mead with him and walking to the Cistern. He had more mead in his quarters and didn't need to see the two of them like this right now.  
Thatcher and Malora just looked at each other "I'll go talk to him, sit tight Gallus should be back soon"  
Malora nodded and took a seat, ignoring the eyes that she could feel staring at her.  
Thatcher went to Brynjolf, who was scribbling angrily in his journal. He heard Thatcher approach and without looking up ordered him away.  
"We need her back, Bryn. She's one of the best"  
"No, you need her back because you need a good lay"  
"Could you stop acting like such a child for one second? She was a valuable asset and we would benefit from her, especially since you're thieving skills are declining. Stop being so damn selfish" Thatcher didn't even allow him to retort he just left Brynjolf sitting there, still scribbling away. Once Thatcher was out of sight he put the journal down and lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. This day could not possibly get any worse.  
He didn't realize he had dozed off until someone was shaking him awake "I'm awake...I'm awake stop!" he barked groggily at his intruder.  
He open his eyes and let them adjust and he saw Malora staring back down at him "You really couldn't wait until I woke up on my own accord?" She didn't respond, just sat on the bed with him playing with his bedsheets. "What time is it anyway?"  
"Past midnight, I couldn't sleep"  
"So you come to me?"  
She chuckled a bit "Force of habit I guess"  
He sat up and rubbed his eyes, pulling his hair out of the knotted mess that was his ponytail. "What could you possibly have to say to me?"  
She sighed "You know how much I hate admitting my faults, but I'll give you this one. I was a horrid witch back there and I know I upset you. I'm still angry with you"  
He adjusted himself in the bed "I don't blame you"  
"I don't think you were lying to me" She barely squeaked out.  
"Yeah well you made me question it myself so thanks"  
She furrowed her brow "You doubted yourself?"  
"You have no idea what you do to me, lass"  
She giggled and crawled under the blankets next to him in bed, which he was completely taken surprise by. He was even more surprised when her head found it's way onto his chest, and his arm around her small frame.  
She was tiny for a nord. Her mother was a bosmer, thus giving Malora an incredibly small stature. She still towered over most elves, but compared to what Brynjolf had been used to the past few years she was just so...tiny, so fragile against his large, muscular frame. She looked up at him "I'm sorry Brynjolf, I'm sorry I ran off on you...I'm sorry for Thatcher and everything I've done to hurt you"  
"You're not the one that needs to be apologizing, not by any means." She went to interject but he continued "Malora, I am so sorry I hurt you, I'm so sorry for everything I've put you through. I will forever regret my behavior..." She stopped him with a soft kiss. He was completely euphoric for a moment, reliving the night he kissed her by the lake. Her soft lips tasted of snowberries and mead, typical Malora. She pulled away "I don't want to talk about this right now Brynjolf, I would just like to sleep"  
He nodded in agreement and took his shirt off seeing he had removed his trousers as soon as he got comfy enough before he dozed off. He watched Malora strip out of her worn leather armor, leaving her in just a loose tunic. She crawled back into bed and faced him, he did the same. "Do you love him?" Brynjolf asked, breaking the silence.  
She flashed him a look of confusion "What are you talking about?"  
"Thatcher, do you love him? Did you love him?"

She stared at him dumbfounded "Brynjolf I said I wanted to..."  
"Can you please just answer me that?"  
She bowed her head "I used to, I don't know if I do anymore"  
Brynjolf bowed his head as well "Do you still love me?"  
"Brynjolf..."  
"Please?"

She sighed "I don't know anymore"


	3. III

He woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, his face stuck to the pages of his journal. He peeled it off, rubbed his eyes and yawned. He pulled himself out of bed, changed into some fresh clothes and made his way into the Flagon for some much needed coffee.  
When he arrived he saw Mercer, Gallus, Karliah and Malora were all huddled around a table muttering amongst themseleves with mugs of coffee and pastries cluttering the table. Brynjolf made himself a cup of coffee and drank it in silence at the table, occasionally trying to eavesdrop on the conversation beside him. He only picked up on a few things, something about going to Falkreath and a ring. Within a few minutes the conversation had ended, Mercer and Gallus had disappeared into the Cistern and Malora was walking over to his table. She pulled a chair up and sat down. "Just like the good old days, huh?"  
"What good old days?"  
Her face softened "Brynjolf..."  
"Why did you come crawling to my bed last night? Did you expect some kind of pity party? Am I supposed to just pretend everythings all peachy?"  
She sighed "We're going to Falkreath bright and early tomorrow morning. Hope everything is peachy by then" and with that she was out of the chair and heading over to where Thatcher and Delvin were sitting. She plopped next to Thatcher and gave him those big ol' puppy eyes every time he looked at her. He of course was eating it up.

Brynjolf groaned loudly enough to make Cypress come over.  
Now, Cypress was a big brutish nord. Used to fight for the legion till he lost his left eye, always raggedly covered with a linen or patch so people wouldnt laugh or stare. A mop of thick, brown hair covered his head and a beard his face. He was a kind man in his own way, despite his rather menacing apperance. And Brynjolf considered him one of his closest friends, he spent many a night sitting at his bar, drunk as a doornail babbling on about something to him. Cypress wasnt good with helping people normally, but for some reason he could read Brynjolf like a book.  
"If youre so sick of seeing them together why dontcha man up and tell her how ya feel?"  
Brynjolf glanced over at the two of them again, she was laughing a little too hard at one of his stories and it made Brynjolf want to throw up.  
"Because I already told her! She said I was lying"  
Cypress let out a hardy laugh "Trust me boy, you aint lying"  
"She seems to think I am"  
"Well shes wrong, shes still probably hurtin from whatcha did to her. Give her time"  
"Why? So I can watch her fall into the arms of my best friend again?" He scoffed "I dont know if I can do that again"  
Cypress slammed his hand on the table, causing the whole Flagon to nearly fall out of there seats.  
"Gods mate you trying to kill us or something?" Delvin yelled once he regained his composure.  
"Aye! No bitchin in my bar. Plus if I wanted to kill ya I wouldve done it a long time ago" Cypress shot back.  
Delvin threw up his hands in surrender and continued his coversation with Thatcher while Malora had now found herself in Thatcher's lap.  
Brynjolf saw this of course and looked at Cypress with a mix of hurt and i-told-you-so written across his face.  
Cypress shook his head "Shes tryin to get a rise outta ya. And youre lettin her do it."  
"So what Im supposed to just sit here and not feel like my heart is withering up every time I look at her?"  
"Yeah actually, or fight fire with fire"  
"Not too sure Im up for that"  
"Well better figure something out, cos youre not gonna be able to repress this shit for long and you know it."  
Brynjolf twirled his quill with his fingers, Cypress was right, he wouldn't be able to repress this. He had to do something and fast because he was going to be stuck with her, alone, for a long time when they go to Falkreath.  
He thanked Cypress for the chat and headed out into the city for some supplies and then left the city for some thinking time.  
"She isnt interested in me ya know" Thatcher said from behind him. He spun around and saw his friend leaning up against a tree with his head down, his shaggy, thick brown hair covering his features.  
Brynjolf nearly chocked trying to stifle a laugh "Really now?"  
"Im telling you Brynjolf..."  
"Thats funny because her flirting with you giving you those big googly eyes beg to differ"  
"Shes trying to make you jealous!" He shouted. For a moment it was dead silent as the two of them stared at each other. "I wasnt supposed to say anything to you but I cant let this ruin our friendship okay?"  
"What in the world ever made you agree to that?"  
"It was kinda funny at first, now its just sad"  
"It wasnt funny at all, Thatch!" He shouted, quickly regaining his composure. "She doesnt even think I love her back"  
Thatcher sat next to Brynjolf, and produced two ales from behind his back. He popped the corks on them and handed one to Brynjolf. "I just think she wasnt expecting you to say that" he took a swig and set it down next to him.  
Brynjolf took a swig of his as well and fiddled with the bottle a bit before responding. "I dont know what to do Thatch"  
Thatcher shrugged "Youll have a nice long trip with her tomorrow, just talk to her in a less hostile setting"  
Brynjolf took another swig and shrugged "I guess it couldn't hurt"  
The two sat in silence for a while, staring at the lake and drinking occasionally. Brynjolf was writing away in his journal when Thatcher peeked over his shoulder to try and see what it was, to which Brynjolf pulled it away.  
"Eventually Im gonna find out what youre hiding in there"  
Brynjolf scoffed "Good luck"  
"Im a thief, Bryn."  
Brynjolf shot his head around and stared at Thatcher "Me too, icebrain"  
"Yeah but Im a better thief" he boasted in a very childish way  
Brynjolf let out a sarcastic laugh "Always so modest" he looked back at the journal, Malora had made it for him a long time ago and he had always used it. The tattered leather cover had an engraving of a tree on it, Malora was so proud of herself for it. The original parchment was old and the ink was fading on some of his original entries, and he had added so much new parchment in that it was bulging. He flipped a few pages in his hand before deciding to just let Thatcher look.  
Thatcher gingerly took it in his hands like it was made of glass and started flippimg through. Some of it was notes about his day, notes for jobs, occasionally an attempt at a poem or two but what took up the majority of the journal was art. Thatcher was completely amazed as he skimmed through the pages, Brynjolf had drawn damn near every member of the guild, beautiful landscape drawings and finally lots of portraits of Malora. "I never knew you were an artist! These are amazing Brynjolf!"  
Brynjolf shrugged "Pa always told me mum was an artist, guess thats where I get it from. Malora taught me some things too. I just do it to kill time"  
"Im honestly amazed. Whoda thunk it? Im friends with an artist! Hey can i keep this one of me?" He asked showing Brynjolf the picture, to which he allowed him to have it.  
"Dont tell anyone about this alright?"

"Why not? Youre amazing!"  
"Gotta keep up my reputation, Thatcher. I could tell everyone you still suck your thumb"  
Thatcher glared at him "Okay fine. Why dont we go back to the Flagon? I could use a drink"  
"You didnt even finish that one" Brynjolf said nodding to the half finished one in his hand.  
Thatcher quickly downed the rest of it "To the Flagon!" He announced pointing towards the city and marching to it. Brynjolf laughed and shook his head. He collected his things and chased after Thatcher back into the city.  
When they arrived back at the Flagon it was nearly empty, which struck them as odd. Gallus and Karliah were sitting at a table near the bar talking, Cypress was feeding the stray dog, which was finally given a befitting name; Mange, and Malora was seated at the bar, her head in a book and a half finished goblet of wine sat beside her.  
Thatcher ran and grabbed some drinks while Brynjolf sat at a table, his eyes on Malora. He couldn't get what Thatcher said out of his head.  
Thatcher plopped down with two ales "Where ya think everyone is?"  
Brynjolf shrugged and took a swig of his ale. "Aye, Gallus! Where is everyone?" He asked setting his ale back down.  
Gallus turned his direction away from Karliah "Mercer is having a party. We decided to have a quiet night here"  
"Why aren't you there?" He asked Malora.  
She didn't avert her attention from her book "No reason"  
He sighed and got up and sat next to her. "Do you mind if we talk in the Cistern?" He asked quietly.  
She peered up at him, doggy eared the page of her book and closed it, standing up. "Lets go" She said as she headed towards the storage cabinet.  
Once in the small alley between the Flagon and the Cistern he pulled her aside. "I want you to know I wasn't lying, okay, lass?"  
She shot around, her arm still outstretched to the doorknob. She yanked herself away from his grip "I know" She continued into the Flagon, and he followed suit.  
"You know?"  
She nodded as she sat on her bed, Brynjolf sat across from her. "If you know why'd you tell me I was lying?"  
"I like watching you squirm"

Her answers were very dismissive , and her normally cheery attitude had been replaced with sadness.  
He slouched a bit at her response, "Oh..."  
She put her book on the end table "I'm not too sure what you want me to say here Brynjolf. If this is all you want to talk about then I don't want to talk"  
He sighed "I just wanted tomorrow to be as civil and normal as possible"  
She scoffed "Normal..."  
"What's your deal, lass? The bitter attitude is very unlike you"  
"Nothing Brynjolf"  
"Don't lie to me"  
She glared at him "Nothing"  
"You know I wont stop until you tell me"  
She sighed in defeat, knowing she wouldn't be bested.  
"I...I got raped..." She said in a very small voice, her head bowed in shame.  
Brynjolf shot back in shock. "Wha-what? Really?"  
She nodded.  
His shock quickly boiled into anger, who dare hurt his best friend like this? He would rip their head off with his bare hands. "Who...did this?" He asked through gritted teeth.  
She turned away "I can't tell you, he'd kill me"  
"Malora!"  
"I can't tell you Brynjolf!"  
He calmed down "I wont say a thing. I wont do a thing."  
"I don't believe you"  
"On my honor"  
She scoffed a bit "Thieves honor..."  
"Malora"  
She looked up at him, tears in her big green eyes. "Brynjolf I can't..."  
"You can tell me, I wont tell a soul"  
She turned away again "It was...it was Thatcher."


	4. IV

Brynjolf's face twisted with anger. "I'll...kill him!"  
"Brynjolf no! You promised you wouldn't"  
He looked down at her small figure, her red hair in a messy bun atop her head, her freckle dotted face wet with tears. "Please don't do anything..." she begged him  
He felt himself grinding his teeth trying to conceal his anger. His best friend, HER best friend. How could Thatcher betray her trust so easily? How could he do that to her?  
Her face was flushed, the tears fell in steady waves now. He wanted to calm down for her, to console her. But every time he looked into those damn sad eyes he felt the anger bubble up inside of him all over again.  
He blurted out some bullshit excuse to step outside and collect himself, leaving her to weep by herself into her pillow. He paced around the cemetery, cracking his knuckles and clenching and relaxing his hands as he paced.  
 _Deep breaths. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Inhale. I'm going to fucking kill Thatcher. Exhale._  
It wasn't long before he found himself standing at the door of the Flagon, contemplating going in. He tried to remain calm, but as soon as he heard Thatcher laughing the calmness was gone.  
He pushed the door open and charged in towards Thatcher, who had his back to him; he was sitting with Delvin who had come back early from Mercer's party. Delvin saw Brynjolf first, noticing the anger etched into his face. He said something to Thatcher, who turned around just in time for Brynjolf's fist to collide with his nose, sending him flying off his chair. He had caught the attention of the entire Flagon at this point.  
"What the fuck, Brynjolf?!" Thatcher shouted holding his nose, blood pouring through his fingers. He grabbed a linen off the shelf he had fallen next to and held it to his nose.  
Brynjolf hoisted him off the ground by his collar, causing Thatcher to drop the linen. Blood continued to pour down his face as he finally noticed the look in Brynjolf's eyes.  
Gallus had stood up to intervene, but as soon as he touched Brynjolf's shoulder and he saw Gallus saw his face as he shot around, he backed off but remained close.  
"How could you fucking do that to her?!" Brynjolf shouted shoving Thatcher against the shelf hard enough to knock some pans off of it. Thatcher stood in shock and pulled himself back up into a standing position.  
"What are you talking about Brynjolf?!" He shouted, not caring about the blood dripping off his face anymore.  
"You fucking raped her! Our best fucking friend!"  
Thatchers face turned white. "She...she swore she wouldn't tell you..."  
"Well she fucking did!" Brynjolf was ready to pull his daggers on him.  
Everyone in the guild was now staring at the two of them, Gallus looked like he wanted to kill Thatcher too.  
"I was fucking drunk! I had one too many-" Brynjolf silenced him with another punch, this time to the jaw. It made a sickening crack as Thatcher got knocked off his feet again.  
Once he regained his balance he realized words werent doing him any good right now and he stood himself with his arms drawn in front of him, ready to defend blows. He jabbed Brynjolf in the ribs and assumed his defensive position once again.  
Brynjolf groaned as he felt a crack but quickly retaliated with a punch to the stomach that knocked the air clean out of Thatchers lungs. While he was regaining his breath Brynjolf kicked his legs out from underneath him.  
Thatcher dragged Brynjolf down with him and stood quickly, stomping on his stomach and ribs a few times. Then gave him two swift, hard kicks to the face. One colliding with his nose the other with his jaw. Brynjolf stood and hunched to the side, one hand on his surely cracked ribs and the other on his dagger, blood poured down his face and onto his shirt. Gallus watched this happened, and in one swift motion the dagger went from in it's sheath to right underneath Thatcher's collarbone. Thatcher groaned in pain as Brynjolf twisted it a bit before pulling it out. Gallus threw Brynjolf off of Thatcher before he killed him. "Outside. NOW" he barked. Brynjolf went to interject and Gallus reiterated. "I'm not joking Brynjolf. Either get out or you are out"  
Brynjolf turned to leave but he caught a glimpse of a figure in the doorway between the cistern and the Flagon. Malora was staring at him, her eyes still wet with tears but this time her mouth was ajar.  
He turned away, not being able to bare looking at her, and left the Flagon with his head hung and a slight limp in his step. He grabbed some ales from the inn and sat on the docks drinking away. He debated jumping in and drowning himself. Or maybe he'd hang himself from a tree.  
He had managed to lose both of his best friends in a matter of minutes. There was no way either of them were talking to him now. And he was supposed to be going on a job with Malora in a few hours.  
While he was downing his third ale he heard footsteps behind him, he didn't bother turning around. "Brynjolf" He heard Gallus say.  
He turned to see Gallus and Malora standing there, he was surprised to see either of them right now.  
Gallus sat beside him while Malora stood back, she was smoking her pipe which is something she often did to ease her mind.  
"I understand why you flipped out at him but you almost killed him! I ought to throw you out on that fact alone"  
Brynjolf took a large swig of his ale and stared blankly at the lake before him, his face remaining emotionless and cold.  
Gallus sighed "I know you and Malora are due in Falkreath tomorrow, and if you're both okay with it I don't mind if you two go but the second you pick a fight with another guild member again you are out of here. I don't care how long I've known you." He paused and took one of the ales, popping it open and taking a swig. "This is so unlike you Brynjolf. Don't think I haven't noticed your abilities starting to fade. You're getting careless and you're getting sloppy. I'm worried about you. I think all this drinking has a lot to do with it"  
"I don't drink that much"  
Both Gallus and Malora laughed at that "Now you're just lying." Gallus said patting Brynjolf on the back "In all seriousness Bryn, somethings gotta change or you're gonna be back on bitch work. I don't want to do that to you."  
Brynjolf continued to drink, not responding.  
Gallus sighed and stood up, taking another swig of ale. "I'll leave you two to it, keep what I said in mind, Brynjolf" He put the ale down and looked at Malora, she sighed and emptied her pipe, then placed it in her satchel on her waist.  
Gallus walked off but stayed close, he was their father figure growing up, and he felt responsible for them. Granted when he met them they were still little whelps, and he was a lot younger himself. He'd watch them grow from practically babies to the adults they are today. He really hated to see them drifting apart like this, seeing they were inseparable up until very recently.  
Malora sat next to Brynjolf. "I asked you not to say anything to him"  
"That was before you told me it was fucking Thatcher" Brynjolf growled through bared teeth.  
Malora grabbed the ale Gallus had left behind and looked at her battered best friend. His face was bloody still and his knuckles were as well. He had been ripping strands off his shirt to try and stop the bleeding, so a pile of his bloody rags sat beside him.  
Malora had prepared for this, witnessing the whole beating. She brought her aid kit and stuffed it full of extra linens. She took a swig of ale and reached for her aid kit, Brynjolf was watching her every move. "You're seriously going to help me?" He asked, honestly shocked.  
She nodded. "I know you wont get yourself healed so I need to at least do it for you. Especially if we're going to Falkreath tomorrow" She grabbed some of the linens and downed them in her special tonic to fight infection. She unwrapped the linen he had around his surely broken left hand and cleaned if off in water. He watched her very intently, very curiously. She carefully bandaged his left hand, the tonic stung his wounds as soon as it hit and he winced a bit in pain, she placed her hand on top of his in a gesture of comforting and looked up at him, "Don't be such a baby" she said as she quickly removed her hand and got back to tending his wounds.  
She carefully tied up the bandage on his wrist and started to work on his face. She could barely see his skin behind all the blood and dirt that had collected. She soaked a rag in water and brought it to his face, carefully scrubbing the blood off of him. There was a nice long gash on his jaw where Thatcher had kicked him and it was bleeding profusely. She quickly performed a simple spell on it to at least get the bleeding to stop. She then worked on his broken nose, she snapped it back to it's original place and performed another spell to stop the bleeding.  
She knew his ribs would be the worst so she waited to do it, she wasn't sure her skill would be enough to mend his broken ribs. She quickly tore off the little bit of shirt he had left and threw it aside and examined his ribs. Already bruising over from right under his arm to his waist, the worst was definitely the ribs. They had several impact cuts from Thatchers kicking but mostly large bruising. She carefully caressed it with her fingertips and he winced, letting out a small whimper. This wasn't good.  
"I don't know if I can heal you, Bryn."  
"Then just bandage me"  
"You have broken ribs, Brynjolf let me just take you to the temple"  
He scoffed, which of course hurt him. "I've had worse"  
She sighed, he had definitely had worse. She was still worried, more so because of his intoxication level. She just wanted him away from the docks.  
"Please"  
He shook his head and continued to drink his ale, he was very, very drunk. And it was starting to hit him full blast now. He turned to Malora "When did it happen?" He asked sternly.  
She bowed her head "Well...right before i left?"  
Brynjolfs face somberd "What?"  
She sighed "He did try to again...that was yesterday"  
"If he did this years ago...why in Oblivion would you cozy up to him? So he could do it again?"  
"Brynjolf it's not like that..."  
"Then what is it like, lass?"  
She didn't answer him, he didn't press due to him being pissed off enough as it was. He chugged down more of his ale.  
"Bryn...if you wont let me take you to the temple at least let me take you to where I've been staying"  
"Where would that be?"  
"Some old fisherman's house. It's got a bed and a spit so I don't complain. I don't stay there a lot but it's a place to keep my things." she pointed past the docks to a run down looking home at the far end of the dock.  
He groaned as he stood up, Malora grabbed his things and threw his arm over her shoulder and helped him to her shack.  
Once they got in he sat on the bed and cracked open another ale, she watched him and under her breath mumbled "Don't you think you've had enough for one night?"  
He stopped midway through him taking a sip and looked at her. "I heard you"  
"I know you did'  
He continued his sip and she sat at the table across from the bed and cleaned her blades.  
He eyed her curiously. "Nervous?"  
She stopped and dropped the rag on the table, she spun and faced him, her face stern. "Brynjolf I'm not going to Falkreath tomorrow, and neither are you. I'm not going back to that rat-hole of a Guild."  
"So you're just gonna run away again?"  
"Yeah, Brynjolf I'm gonna run away again." She said condescendingly  
He shook his head and took a long swig of ale. She spun back and continued to clean her blades.  
"Where are you going?" He asked her.  
"I don't know" she answered coldly. He sighed and took another long swig of ale. "Why do you even care?"  
"Because regardless of what you say and what you think I do love you lass, and I don't want to watch you walk away again."  
Her face softened, but he couldn't see that. "It's stupid for you to love me Brynjolf"  
"No it's not, Malora."  
She put her dagger down and ran a hand through her long red hair. Brynjolf felt his gut drop, she was serious. She was leaving again, just as quickly as she came back she's leaving again.  
"Why even join the guild, why show yourself around if you were just gonna leave?"  
She took a minute before she answered "I had to see you one more time, Brynjolf. I had to see Thatcher. I already told him, and he would've told you if you didn't beat the piss out of him. So I guess I'm grateful for your violent tendencies..."  
"Really? Is that really what all this was about? You made me beat the piss out of my best friend just so you could tell me you're leaving me again?" There was anger hidden in his words, but she felt them stab her in the heart like a red hot dagger.  
"It wasn't my original intention...I wanted to stay Brynjolf I wanted to so badly"  
"Then why don't you?"  
She turned her head away from him "I...I just can't stay here. Theres a lot you don't know about me, Brynjolf"  
"Then why don't you tell me?! Why do you have to be so damn mysterious?! There was a time where we told each other everything!"  
"I can't tell you Brynjolf, I wish you could just understand..."  
"Help me understand!"  
She remained silent and resumed cleaning her daggers in slow, deliberate strokes. Like she was trying to scrub everything she had ever done off of it.  
He sat there in silence for a minute before throwing his bottle at the wall behind her head, it shattered and sent ale all over the wall and floor. Malora shot out of her seat and smacked him across the face. He looked up at her with an emotionless expression, blood trickling down from his mouth. He wiped it off and grabbed her shirt and pulled her down to his level. "Hit me again, I dare you"  
She turned her face away, to which he forced her to look at him, holding her chin in his hand.  
She spit in his face, to which he let her go and went to stand. But before he could even get the chance she was out the door.  
He watched her leave, not going into the city but taking the road out of Skyrim.  
He put his head in his hands, he knew she was gone. He knew she wasn't coming back.

(A/N: Welcome to part 2 of chapter 4! This will be more focused on Malora and her thoughts rather than Brynjolf and his. The POV will change around a lot in the coming chapters so enjoy!)

She ran through the Rift wilderness, branches crunching under her feet and tears streaming down her face. The moonlight barely illuminated her path, coupled with tear blurred vision and she soon found the tip of her boot hitting a rock and her falling face first into the dirt. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky for a minute, her chest heaving as she tried to stifle her cries, lest a creature hears her. She sat herself up and stared back at the fading city of thieves. She couldn't hold it in anymore and soon found herself crying into her bent knees.  
She stopped suddenly when she heard a group of footsteps approaching her from behind, she sat up and drew her daggers. She peered behind the tree and all she saw were 4 pairs of glowing yellow eyes staring back at her.  
"You're a hard person to find..." one of them cooed, she heard him stepping around the tree slowly. "But we knew you'd be here. Rat's always return to the sewer"  
She bit her tongue.  
"Can we kill her?" Another one, this time female, asked excitedly.  
"No, no not yet. She needs to suffer, suffer like our family did"  
She grabbed the silver coated dagger from her boot and spun out from behind the tree, throwing it at the first Vampires head. He caught it like it was nothing. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that, Malora"  
She stepped forward with her two daggers drawn, the main vampire threw her silver blade to the side as he signaled for his companions to grab her.  
The closest one to her grabbed her arm, but soon let go as an arrow pierced his skull and he fell to the ground. This gave her enough time to grab her silver blade and go for the leader. She watched the other two fall quickly after the first and she managed to get behind the leader and plunged her dagger through his back. But he was dead before that, as an arrow found his heart and nearly got Malora's face.  
She looked around for the archer and saw a hooded figure step out from the shadows. "Friend or foe?!" She shouted nervously, her dagger pointed at the figure.  
A deep chuckle came from the figure as he stepped into the moonlight and lowered their hood, revealing a rugged face smirking at her. "You're really going to ask me that after I just saved your tail from some night crawlers?" His voice was gruff and sarcastic.  
"I've learned not to trust anyone." she said slowly circling around him, dagger still pointed at him.  
"Ah, smart girl. Well I'm not going to kill you if that's what you're wondering"  
She lowered her dagger but kept her grip tight around the hilt.  
"What are you doing out here so late anyway?" He asked. "It's like you're asking to get hurt"  
"None of your business."  
He smirked again "You're right."  
"What are you doing out here so late?" She asked in an almost mocking tone.  
He pointed to the pile of dead vampires behind her. "I've been tracking them for a while now"  
"Really?" She asked looking at the corpses of these...well corpses.  
"Yeah, and it seems like they've been tracking you. And I'm wondering why"  
"Once again, none of your business" she looked him up and down "What are you some kind of Vampire Hunter?"  
"That's exactly what I am" he looked at the silver blade sticking out of the vampires back "Seems like you know what you're doing as well"  
She retrieved her blade "I know exactly what I'm doing, probably far better than you as well"  
"Right as you killed how many of those vampires again? Oh that's right, you didn't!"  
She sneered at him "You took my kill"  
"You were too slow" he mocked with a chuckle. She sneered at him again. "What your pa never taught you how to use a bow?"  
She drew her dagger and within the blink of an eye she had it under his throat and him backed up to a tree. "My pa and my ma are the reason I hunt these undead fucks in the first place. And if you don't mind your tongue I'll add you to that pile of 'em" She said.  
He raised his hands in surrender "Sorry" He croaked out, still having the dagger against his throat.  
She removed it and he rubbed his throat, "Well I don't feel right leaving you out here by yourself, why don't you come back to my place? I've got a spare bed"  
She looked at him like he had five heads.  
"Dont flatter yourself, youre not my type. Im always willing to help a fellow hunter."  
She agreed with caution. He led her to a medium sized cabin on the lake, there was a small farm and garden in the front, two horses and some livestock. She wasnt expecting a hunter to live in a sweet little cottage. But once he unlocked the doors she instantly realized the facade.  
There were weapons strewn across every surface, alongside books and maps. Bounties and wanted posters coated the longest wall in the house. All except the center of that wall at least, that had 2 floor to ceiling bookcases overflowing with books and skulls. In between the two bookcase lie his desk, more books and bounties scartered across it, candles and skulls lined the ledge of the desk. A map covered the center of the desk, with a dagger stabbed into the center of it.  
His bed was on the adjacent wall, it was covered with furs and books. There was a large pelt on the wall behind it, and a shelf above that. On the shelf was a jar of fangs, more skulls and more books.  
There was a stairway leading downstairs and soon claws were heard coming up. "Hey you filthy mutt, miss me?" The hunter asked as a large black wolf pounced on him and licked his face. Malora seemed taken a back at first, until the beast approached her and nudged her hand with its snout. She scratched its head and it licked her hand excitedly.  
"Y'know i never caught your name" he said as he grabbed two ales. He handed her one and she held it in her hands for a moment while he cracked his open and took a swig.  
"Malora" she said feebly as she sat on his bed.  
He took a swig of ale "Im Bishop"  
They sat in silence for a few moments, drinking their ales. "Howd you get into hunting?" She asked, breaking the silence.  
He chuckled and dragged a chair over to the bed, sitting on it backwards so he could use the back of the chair as an arm rest. "Watched them rip apart my sweetheart"  
"Im sorry" she said with a tone of caring.  
"Well i let it be a lesson to not get close to anyone" he took a long swig of ale. "Your parents, they die at the hand of vampires?"  
She nodded. "I was young, real young. I only lived because my sister hid me in the basement after they got my parents. Dont know what happened to her."  
"Could she still be alive?"  
Malora shrugged and took a swig of ale "Havent bothered to check"  
"Why not?"  
"Its easier to only worry about myself"  
"I hear that"  
They sat in silence again, drinking away.  
"Well the beds downstairs. Karnwyr wont be happy youre in his bed and might join you so be prepared. Im gonna hit the hay"  
Malora got off the bed and headed downstairs, it was decorated like it was for a child, paintings donned the walls and childrens books and trinkets lined the single bookshelf across the bed.  
The bed was covered in wolf hair, but it was better than the forest floor. She brushed as much as she could off and laid down, soon she heard Karnwyr whimpering at the foot of the bed, she patted it a few times before the wolf jumped up and immediatly started snoring.  
Upstairs, Bishop was drinking another ale and staring out the window. He had tracked 7 Vampires and only 4 showed up. He knew once the 4 failed to return, the last 3 would come to finish the job.  
He sat and waited for hours until finally one of them made the fatal error of peeking through the window, staring right at Bishop.  
Soon he was pinned down by a second vampire who had snuck in while he was distracted. He was then joined by the final two. "Where is the girl?" One of them asked with a snarl.  
"Beats me, she ran off as soon as I killed your buddies"  
The main vampire smiled and signaled for the third vampire to approach Bishop, a dagger fell from his sleeve and was soon pressed against Bishops neck. Bishop tensed as the cool metal dug into his flesh. "Youre lying" the main one snarled more viciously this time.  
Malora had of course been awake this whole time and was sitting on the stairs watching from a safe distance with her daggers on her waist and her silver blade in her hand. She could easily take the three of them on but she didnt want them to hurt Bishop. So she waited for the opportune moment.  
The vampires continued to press Bishop until they heard Karnwyr run up the steps, Malora had tried to keep him down until now, he was too strong for her.  
The main one smiled at Bishop menacingly, and signaled for one of his goons to go down. Karnwry went to attack but with barely any force the vampire had knocked him to the side.  
"You bastatd! Ill kill you!" Bishop shouted, struggling against the vampire holding him back.  
"Thats very cute, meat." The vampire said coldly.  
Malora managed to kill the vampire without him uttering a sound and was preparing for the other two.  
"I know youre down there" the main one called "I can smell your blood" he cooed. "Why dont you come out so we can talk?"  
Malora stayed silent until a sudden force grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up the stairs, she struggled against it and yelped in pain as it dragged her across the floor.  
"Leave him alone he has nothing to do with this" she demanded  
"He has plenty to do with this, he is a hunter too. I already ruined his life though" he smirked at Bishop "Today Im here for you though, Malora."  
Her hair dropped and soon the force was around her neck instead, pain shot through her body as the force tightened its grip.  
"So just kill me already!" She shouted, trying to pry invisible hands off her neck.  
He clicked his tongue "Well thats no fun, no Im going to torture you, slowly. I will drink your blood as it drips from your wounds."  
Bishop had managed to off the vampire holding him back without much effort and was making his way to the one holding Malora up. Her silver dagger lie on the ground near the steps and he headed for that slowly and silently.  
The last remaining vampire had noticed him and before he could cast a single spell the silver blade had pierced his heart.  
Malora dropped to her knees gasping for breath as the main vampire fell to his knees, clutching his chest. He pried the dagger out of his chest and jammed it into Bishops leg before collapsing to the ground, dead.  
Bishop groaned loudly as he pulled the dagger from his leg and quickly shoved a linen into it to stop the bleeding. He handed the dagger to Malora "This belongs to you"  
She stood up and took it from him "You...you saved my life"  
He held up two fingers "Twice now" he took a seat on one of his chairs and stretched his leg out.  
"I cant thank you enough, Bishop."  
"Dont mention it." He groaned as he looked at his leg "Can you stitch up a wound?" He asked with a forced laugh.  
"I can do you one better" she said as she approached him. She took out the linen and placed her hand on the wound, he flinched at first before she cast a healing spell on him.  
She removed her hand and all that remained was a scar. He examined it "A healer, huh?"  
"I dabble"  
"Youre pretty good, thanks"  
She blushed a bit and brushed the hair out of her face.  
"Well, want another ale?" He asked  
She nodded and they began to drink, exchanging hunting stories and bits about their pasts.  
"So, got yourself a man waiting for you somewhere?" He asked as he topped off his 3rd ale.  
She laughed "No, too much work"  
"Cheers to that" he said as he grabbed a new ale and clinked the bottle with hers.  
He took a swig and his eyes flickered to her chest. She felt him staring and wouldve normally knocked him out but something about him made her not care. She let her eyes linger, he had rid himself of his armor hours ago and was sitting in just a sleeveless tunic and rolled up trousers. His arms covered in scars and tattoos, and he was muscular, so damn muscular. She could really feel the drink messing with her brain but she couldnt help it, nor did she want to.  
He laughed when he noticed her staring "Might wanna close your jaw before a bee flies in"  
She shook out of it quickly "Im sorry Im going through a lot right now"  
He chuckled "I noticed" he eyed her up and down once more. "Want me to ease some of that tension?" He asked, his voice deep and seductive.  
She froze up. "Youre not serious?"  
"Of course I am."  
She shifted awkwardly in her seat before standing up and looking out the window. This felt so wrong.  
"Of course it's entirely up to you" He said noticing her unease.  
She spun around and looked him up and down once more. She felt like she was betraying Brynjolf, more so than she already had these past few years. Even though Brynjolf was just a jealous drunken fiend who she never would've been friends with had it not been for circumstance.

She approached the hunter and he flashed her a cheeky smile as she stood above him, straddling him in his sitting position.  
She felt his hands travel up her legs and land firmly on her bum, he grabbed at it a few times before continuing to travel up her body, under her shirt...  
His hands were rough and calloused but he touched her with such delicacy you'd think he was handling glass.

She moaned softly as he gave a firm squeeze to her breasts.

He lifted her up and carried her to the bed. "You're sure?" he asked as his eyes traveled across her small frame.

She nodded and he began to tear away at her clothes while she did the same to him.

The drink had hit both of them full force at this point and what resulted was amazing, sloppy sex. (a/n: i can't write sex scenes even though i'm a 22 year old who has had sex before I'm so sorry)  
Compared to the other lovers she has had, Bishop was very different. Most of the time her partners would roll over and sleep, or grab more ale or food. Bishop however, pulled her close to him and cuddled with her. She was enjoying it, with her head on his chest listening to the steady thump thump of his heart, she traced the tattoos on his chest with her finger.  
"What were you running from?" He asked after a while of them sitting in silence.

She shot her head up to look at him. "Why do you care?"  
"I'm just curious." he shrugged  
She sighed "Life, mine to be exact."  
"And by life you mean some man?"

She glared at him "Sort of"  
Bishop adjusted himself so he was on his side facing her now. The sudden lack of warmth hit her like a ton of bricks and she wrapped herself up in his furs. "Sort of?" he asked her  
"Is this really a conversation you want to have with me?"  
"Look I couldn't give two fucks what you're running from I'm just trying to get to know you since we're lying here naked in bed together..."  
She sighed "Maybe I should just go"  
"So you're just a runner? You just run away from things?"  
"It's not like that"  
"It kind of seems like that"  
She sighed again and went to leave the bed, he grabbed her arm. "Well I'd like to change this running away nonsense of yours. Why don't you join me for a few hunts? See if you could do this full time? I'll teach you how to use a bow, train you to be a better hunter. Maybe get you to quit running from your problems"  
"I appreciate the offer but you barely know me..."  
"Well I'm hoping to change that" he said flashing her a genuine smile.  
She bowed her head and got back in the bed with him.  
Maybe she had finally found her place in this messed up world, away from the Guild and thieving, away from all the drama, away from Brynjolf. Maybe the gods had made their relationship so rocky so she could end up in this bed with this charming hunter. Maybe the gods had a plan for her after all.

She just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that the plan didn't involve Brynjolf.

(A/N: WHEW! What a freaking hassle I got so into writing this I had to make it 2 parts haha! Alright so this is a bit of a long one I hope you enjoy it! I think I wrote this one a lot better than previous chapters so yeah thank for reading I love you guys and look forward to reading your reviews every time you post them 33)


	5. V

(HELLO! I'm so sorry for the lack of posting I had this chapter going many different ways and I figured the flash backs would be the best route! Enjoy guys and thank you for waiting for this update!)

AGE 13  
 _Malora turned and looked at her two friends, huddled against each other and sleeping under a tattered blanket while rain pounded Riften. She was too hungry to sleep, she was surprised the boys were able to. The stench of the canal alone should've been enough to keep them up. Sometimes she regretted leaving Honorhall, at least she would be fed every day and had a warm place to sleep. She felt drowsy and her stomach groaned and grumbled. She needed to find something to eat. She stood up and looked at the sleeping boys behind her, if not for her she needed to get them food. She grabbed her satchel, her father made it for her. It was leather, tattered and faded with a carving in it, the Tree of Life. She fingered the etching and felt like crying. She missed her parents so much, she hated living on the street. She hated that the only real family she had left abandoned her when she needed them the most. She felt a few tears fall down her face and she wiped them away. She composed herself and climbed up the stairs to get to the city and peeked around for guards. There weren't many out tonight because of the rain but she still had to be careful. She kept to the shadows and stood facing the market, wondering if this was something she really wanted to do. Her stomach grumbling again was all the reason she needed. She made a mad dash to the market and grabbed as much food as she could before making another mad dash back down to the canal. She found herself stopping upon seeing a shiny dagger sitting out in plain sight, someone must have forgotten to lock it up so she snagged that as well. She made her way back down the stairs, completely surprised she hadn't be caught and woke up her sleeping friends. When they opened their eyes and saw her satchel filled to the brim with food their eyes widened along with their mouths._  
 _"Malora! How did you get all this?" Thatcher asked as he grabbed an apple and hungrily bit into it._  
 _Malora looked away "I stole it?"_  
 _Brynjolf's head shot up "You what?"_  
 _"I stole it, okay!" She said sitting and crossing her arms "It was so easy"_  
 _"Who cares? You could've gotten caught!" Brynjolf shot back_  
 _"Well I didn't! And we needed to eat. Did you have any other ideas?"_  
 _Brynjolf bowed his head "No"_  
 _"That's what I thought." She grabbed some bread and took a big bite of it, savoring it with every bite. It felt like it had been years since they had eaten, and tonight they were eating like kings._  
 _Thatcher had fallen asleep after he had finished eating, leaving Brynjolf and Malora sitting and staring at the rain hitting the canal water. It had slowed up a bit which was nice. Brynjolf turned to her as she examined the dagger in her hands. "Was it really easy?" he asked her_  
 _She turned to him and nodded "Even got this" she said showing him the dagger._  
 _He grabbed it and looked at it "What do we need a dagger for?"_  
 _She shrugged "Just in case I guess"_  
 _He handed it back to her. "My parents were thieves. I think that's what got them killed." he said solemnly._  
 _"Yeah but if we don't steal we're gonna end up dead. I didn't want to either, Bryn"_  
 _Brynjolf sighed "I'm gonna go to sleep. Thanks for the food" and he got up and walked over to where Thatcher was sleeping, covered him with the blanket and sat next to him trying to fall asleep._  
 _Malora joined shortly after and rested her head on Brynjolf's shoulder "I'm sorry if I upset you. We're running out of options._ "  
 _Brynjolf sighed "I understand. Thank you again lass"_  
 _Malora fell aslwep shortly after and Brynjolf moved her so she was under the blanket with Thatcher and he curled up next to her trying to get as warm as possible and drifted off to sleep._

 _AGE 16_  
 _Brynjolf scoffed as Malora was getting sweet talked by one of the Guild members, obviously not realizing how old she was._  
 _He learned quickly not to interfere as normally she was trying to scam the guy, thus proving how men are suckers time and time again._  
 _Gallus would always put an end to it when he saw it, even though Malora wasn't in the guild yet he still didnt like the concept of family conning each other. Malora kept at it though, she said it sharpened her skills._  
 _So Brynjolf watched as she let him grab her just so she could steal the coin ourse out of his pocket. She looked over at Brynjolf and winked. She pushed the sucker off her and said she was going to be right back. She walked over to Brynjolf and smiled "Works every time" she smirked at him and peered around to see if her victim was watching as she counted out his coin. "What a sucker! I bet Ill be able to do this to you or Thatch soon enough!"_  
 _"Well too bad for you we know your tricks, lass. Though it would be nice to see you knocked down off that pedastal of yours"_  
 _Brynjolf smirked "Gallus is gonna put an end to_ _this for good once youre 18 yknow"_  
 _She shrugged "2 more winters. Thats plenty of time"_  
 _"Youre lucky youre his prodigy or whatever he calls it"_  
 _"Youre just jealous that Im his favorite. And that i keep proving to you how easy this whole con artist thing is if youre a woman! Men are completely morons when a pretty lady happens by and shows him some attention maybe throws a few sexy glances his way and before you know it his gold is mine and hes none the wiser" she looked over at the guy still patiently waiting for her to come back "How should i let him down?"_  
 _"Lass I dont care about the fact that men are stupid around you I do care that one day someone is gonna catch you red handed and hurt you. Your luck is going to run out"_  
 _"Ha! If you say so Brynny. Now, if youll excuse me I have some clothes to buy" and with that she tucked the purse into her jacket and walked over to the guy and gave him some excuse to leave and then left him standing there._  
 _Brynjolf sighed and went to look for Gallus, he needed to put and end to this._  
 _He found him sitting in his favorite spot, on the grass near the water with a book in his hand and ale to last him an afternoon._  
 _"Gallus" Brynjolf started as he approached._  
 _Gallus turned and smiled upon seeing him "Ah Brynjolf! Great day is it not? Sit boy, sit!" He exclaimed cheerily ad he put his book down._  
 _"Gallus we need...you need to do something about Malora scheming every man she meets, Im scared shes going to get hurt. She wont listen to me but you...I think she will"_  
 _"Oh please its harmless. Shes just a girl and its good training. Coming down to the wire"_  
 _Brynjolf sighed "I just dont wanna hear about her doing that to the wrong guy and he finds out and kills her or something and I wasnt there to help"_  
 _"Brynjolf shes not gonna be a girl forever, shes turning into a woman and is going to be placed in many situations that you wont be able to help and she will get hurt. You know this first hand"_  
 _He sighed "I know its just..." he drifted off, unsure of what to say next. "Shes like my little sister yknow? Can you just talk to her and tell her to make it less frequent? Ill do whatever it takes"_  
 _Gallus smiled "Okay, Ill see what I can do. No promises though, you know how she is"_  
 _"Trust me, I know. Thanks Gallus"_  
 _Gallus nodded and picked his book back up and Brynjolf headed back to the Flagon._

 _AGE 18_  
 _Brynjolf and Thatcher stood over Maloras bed, smiling and chuckling to themselves. Brynjolf counted down with his fingers from three._  
 _"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They shouted at their sleeping friend. She shot awake and screamed a bit before realizing what was happening. Thatcher gave her the tray of breakfast they had prepared and her first present. She unwrapped the ribbon and opened the box to reveal a brand new dagger. It had a wood handle with engravings of vines and leaves covering the surface. The blade had the runic sign for family along with intracte cuts made so the bottom looked like roots. She gasped and moved the tray of food so she could hug her boys. "I cant believe you remebered!" She exclaimed excitedly. Brynjolf smiled "We figured since we never have at least this year we can do something"_  
 _"You guys!"_  
 _"We have the whole day planned. Eat up!" Thatcher said as he wandered out of the room with Brynjolf in tow._  
 _She enjoyed a day of lunch, lots of presents and lots of celebrating as she was finally old enough to become an offical guild member. They had a party for her filled with good food, good drink and good company._  
 _She was dancing carelessly around in the moonlight and singing drunkinly as the gang headed to their final spot to camp out and enjoy the rest of the night._  
 _Thatcher and Brynjolf lugged their things to their spot and Brynolf confided in Thatcher once she was dancing out of ear shot._  
 _"Shes making this hard for me tonight" he sighed._  
 _"Thats why you have to act!"_  
 _Brynjolf watched her, she seemed so at home dancing amongst the fireflies in her new gift: a loose and flowy white dress. Her drunken singing was heavenly even though the songs were nonsense. Brynjolf was going to do this tonight._  
 _When they arrived at their campsite Brynjolf quickly got a fire going and Malora headed straight for the lake, ridding herself of the dress along the way and carelessly tossing it on a nearby rock._  
 _Thatched nudged Brynjolf so he could see her now naked form facing away from him, hands lazily trailing across the surface of the water and her head hung back, absolutely lost in the moment._  
 _Brynjolf audibly gulped and called to her, she turned her head and giggled before jumping in and emerging a few feet further out. She called back for them to join._  
 _Thatcher declined feigning tiredness and Brynjolf felt himself tensing up with anxiety. He rid himself of everything except his under trousers. He peered back and saw Thatcher giving him the thumbs up as he disappeared into his tent. Brynjolf headed towards the water and braced himself for the cold but was instead greeted with the warmth of the sun heating it all day. He waded over to her "Now youve got me out here lass, whats the plan?" He asked her._  
 _She grinned mischievously at him "Catch me if you can!" She exclaimed before diving under and swimming away._  
 _Brynjolf laughed and watched for her to pop up and started heading to her, only to have her dodge him. She laughed as he spun around helplessly looking for her._  
 _"And what if i fo catch you?" He asked after he spotted her._  
 _She shrugged "whatever you want" and dove back under._  
 _She made the mistake of trying to swim between her legs and he grabbed her and pulled her up, she gasped for air and made a pouty face "No fair! Im the birthday girl"_  
 _He grinned "You said I get to do whatever I want?" He asked her._  
 _She nodded, defeated._  
 _He lifted her chin up and placed a kiss on her lips that she deepened by running her hands through his hair and givng it pulls and yanks._  
 _Brynjolf couldnt believe what was happening. He was sure he was dreaming._  
 _She pulled away from the kiss and they were both panting with wild eyes. She leaned back in and kissed him again, this time her hands traveling down to his already hard member. He froze for a moment when she grabbed ahold of it through his pants and started to stroke it. "This is what birthday girl wanted if she won" she growled into his ear._  
 _His member swelled even more at that thought. He kissed her harder until he felt her sliding his pants off. She broke the kiss and groaned into his ear about how badly she wanted him. He picked her up and carried her to his tent where he laid her down, spread her legs and slowly started to rub. She groaned in pleasure. He slowly slipped his index finger in and she tensed, he fingered her like tbat for a bit before slowly adding the second one. Her back arched in pleasure._  
 _He slowly made his way down so he was facing her sex, two fingers still inserted. He flicked his tongue once over her clit and she moaned out in pleasure and tensed around his fingers. He continued licking and fingering her, causing her to no longer be able to make the noises she wanted ad she squirmed in pleasure._  
 _When he stopped she groaned "Dont...stop...please..."she panted_  
 _"Hey now I did win, missy." He grinned as he started to direct his rock hard cock to her opening, he slowly pressed it in and she moaned loudly._  
 _He felt lost inside her, he had literally dreamed of this moment. He thursted in and out_ _and grabbed her breasts, his callous hands enjoying their soft and suppleness. He felt himself reaching orgasm and quickened his pace, she begged him not to stop and he obliged, her orgasm coming shortly after. Which abruptly brought him to his as well, he tried to pull out in time but got lost inside of her. He emptied himself into her and pulled out quickly after, finally realizing what he had done. He was too drunk to care at this point and collapased next to her. She snuggled next to him and he whispered a happy birthday into her lips before kissing her. She rested her head on his chest and dozed off._  
 _He worried. He had finally had come back to the real world and looked at the scene before him. He had a million doubts running through his mind and found it hard to fall asleep. When he finally did it was only a few hours before sunrise._  
 _Malora woke first, nuzzled up to Brynjolf who had flipped to his side, one arm around her shoulder and the other on her stomach. She stretched and rolled to face him. She gave him a few kisses, trying to wake him up. He stirred after a bit and he seemed surprised to see her there. She smiled at him "Morning"_  
 _He sat up and stretched, mumbling a good morning to her. She watched him get dressed and he awkwardly asked her if she had a nice time yesterday._  
 _"Yes I did, Brynjolf you and Thatcher were wonderful thank you for everything."_  
 _He smiled. "Im glad lass, anything for you"_  
 _She went to day something before Thatcher announced he made breakfast and coffee, which sounded amazing to both of them right now. Brynjolf was already dressed and outside getting eyed up and down by Thatcher. Brynjolf quietly begged him to discuss it later_  
 _Malora grabbed her clothes from earlier in the day and dressed quickly and ran straight for coffee which she guzzled down happily. She noticed Brynjolf ignoring eye contact with her as she ate and approached him as he went to leave._  
 _"Whats wrong Bryn? I thought this is what you wanted" she said to him._  
 _He ran his fingers through his hair, a nervoud habit, and tried to think of how to explain everything._  
 _"Last night..." he started "is what i wanted. I didnt want all this couples crap"_  
 _Her face dropped "Brynjolf I thought..."_  
 _"Whatever you thought was wrong, okay? Just...forget it happened." And with that he walked away._  
 _Malora stood in disbelief. How could he say that to her? Was he ashamed?_  
 _She collected herself and headed back to the city._  
 _3 MONTHS LATER_  
 _Malora sighed in disbelief. She had asked every priestess, every mage, if it was a misread and it wasnt. That tiny flicker of a detect life spell near her belly button proved to her time and time again the last thing she needed._  
 _She was pregnant._  
 _She had tried to get Brynjolf to understand her feelings for him but he wouldnt have it. He pushed her away even when she_ _told him she loved him. He called her stupid._  
 _She had begun spending more time with Thatcher, who originally admitted just wanting to bed her (and succeeding, though he was more careful) and wanted to comfort her as she dealt with one of her best friends ignoring her._  
 _She had to find him and tell him, though he was not hard to find. At the inn trying to win some bar floozy. She pulled him aside "You breathe a word of this to anyone and I gut you, understand?" She asked him_  
 _He looked at her with concern and confusion "Um...sure. Hope its import-"_  
 _"Im pregnant"_  
 _"Thats impossible you..."_  
 _"Its not yours icebrain"_  
 _He blinked a few times in disbelief "Brynjolf?" She bowed her head and Thatcher gasped "Holy hells...did you tell him?"_  
 _"No and you wont either. Not a word of this to a soul do you understand?"_  
 _"I just cant believe it...are you keeping it?"_  
 _"I...i dont know. It depends on his behavior the next few days. Not a word of this to him or anyone. Im gonna go see if I can find him"_  
 _"Malora I'm not too sure that's a good idea. You know how he gets."_  
 _"What am I supposed to do, Thatch? "_  
 _He sighed "Don't let him hurt you."_  
 _She left and went looking for Brynjolf, who was in the Flagon working on his marksmanship. She took a deep breath and walked over to him "Hey Bryn"_  
 _He turned to face her momentarily before returning back to his training "What do you want"_  
 _"To know why you're being so damn distant"_  
 _He put the bow down and faced her "Because you don't seem to get that bedding you was all I wanted! I didn't want you kissing me awake the next morning, I didn't want you following me around like a little lost puppy and I sure as hell didn't want you to tell me that you love me!"_  
 _She stared at him in disbelief. "Bryn..."_  
 _"I don't care, just go away." he snarled as he grabbed his bow and readied it, she sighed and turned away from him._  
 _He waited for her to be gone before lowering the bow again. He ran his hands through his hair and kicked the target he was shooting at._  
 _He doesn't know why his instinct is to push her away, truth be told he did want her kissing him awake the next morning, and he did want her following him around like a lost puppy and he definitely wanted her to say she loved him._  
 _But, ever since Brynjolf realized girls loved his accent and his charm it was hard for him to even think about relationships. He knew he was a lady killer, and has broken his fair share of hearts in his 20 years on this planet._  
 _He just didn't want one of those girls to be Malora. He deeply cared for her and could never imagine hurting her._  
 _He of course realized he was hurting her by shunning her advances but he felt like it was necessary to prevent her from getting hurt even further by him._  
 _He also noticed that his lack of affection to her had pushed her into the arms of Thatcher, who was taking her side in all of this. It had been nothing but problems since her birthday and of course Thatcher took Malora's side, he thinks Brynjolf is being ridiculous._  
 _Brynjolf went and grabbed a few meads and got himself slowly drunk_  
 _When Brynjolf went to apologize to Malora he instead saw her and Thatcher making out. His drunken instincts grabbed Malora off of Thatcher and started wailing on Thatcher as Thatcher pleaded for him to stop. Malora at this point tried to intervene and instead Brynjolf spun and punched her square in the mouth, Malora fell backwards but 4 of her front teeth didn't come with her. She stumbled a bit getting up, but Brynjolf didn't notice what he did and was continuing to wail on Thatcher. Malora grabbed his shoulder and spun him around and punched him in the jaw, her ring ripping the skin when it made contact. Brynjolf looked up dumbfounded at Malora, who had blood dripping down her face._  
 _"Oh gods Malora..." he started as he got up and went to embrace her. She pushed him away_  
 _"No!" She screamed, he was taken aback at this. "I'm sick of you pushing me around! I'm sick of you getting drunk and turning into...into this!" she waved her hand at him. "You know I really do love you Brynjolf, not this part of you. And this is the part you I see way too often! So fine! Keep drinking your problems away, because it will totally help! Just don't expect me to be here to keep picking your drunk ass up every time you fall. I'm done with you, with this city!" Tears were streaming down her face at this point "Goodbye Brynjolf" She said as she turned and left, leaving Thatcher and Brynjolf to stare at each other in shock. "Did she just?" Thatcher asked. Brynjolf nodded. "You really messed up this time"_  
 _Brynjolf nodded again. "Always fuckin do" and with that he got up and left. He wanted to hunt Malora down but he didnt know where to look, didnt know if it was even worth it. He sat out in the cemetery and enjoyed the quiet._  
 _Maybe this was all just a bad dream.._


End file.
